Brother M025
by S.A. Tsukasa
Summary: To a child, no one is really ever gone. To an adult, everyone can be replaced.


I feel terrible about not posting in such a long time, especially about not updating 'No Mr. Ketchum', but I'm back for a bit with a series of drabbles I wrote for the pokemon drabbles community in LJ. I hope you all enjoy. Please let me know if there are any errors I may have missed.

Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo, Game Freak and Pokemon USA.

**Brother M-025**

* * *

_Grief_

She could not bear the see the grief in her son's eyes as the casket lowered into the earth. How could she, when she could barely look at her own reflection for fear of seeing those beautiful blue eyes again? Her daughter, her only daughter, was in that coffin and if she did not do something, she would lose her only son as well.

_Remembering you_

Before the accident, her daughter was her biggest critic. She remembers how much May disliked poetry and she remembers how excited her daughter would become as she flipped through Victoria's Secret catalogs for the best swimsuits. She wanted to be a designer, a coordinator, a model. She loved her little brother but at that age she just wanted him gone. Now her brother wished he did leave her alone at those times.

_Silence and Questions_

Their little home was very quiet without May. Her son shuffled around the house like a little lost ghost. He wouldn't eat. He wouldn't talk. He wouldn't listen. She needed to do something for him. She tried to get him to start his own journey, but he would rather memorize random facts from the encyclopedia. She goaded him with promises to see Professor Oak but he ignored her and watched the other children play instead. She let him stay with his father for a month, but he wanted to stay home.  
"What if she comes back?" he asked her again and again.

…_Replacements?_

How do you explain to a six year old that his sister was never going to come back, no matter how well behaved he was, or how quiet he was, or how much he tried to pretend? To a child, no one is really ever gone. To an adult, everyone can be replaced. She remembered reading advertisements about machines that could act as children, feel as children. They could be guards, playmates, lovers, and friends, anything that could be programmed into their 'minds'.

_Quest_

Mother and son went together to the shop to pick out the perfect one for their family. Her son seemed excited about this particular quest. He asked questions about their new machine. Would it eat? Can it grow? Can it use the bathroom? It won't make a mess right? Can I show it to my friends? She knew this had to be the right decision, the best decision. She felt herself swell with happiness, listening to her son chatting as he once used to before the accident. There were thousands of models to choose from, and even more personality software that could be downloaded. She let her son choose which one he wanted. She wanted him to know that it was his decision, that he had control that this one was not going to leave him.

_Big Brother_

He chose a male model, older than May in appearance by almost a year. It had a full head of dark hair and warm brown eyes that seemed unnervingly human. Her son dressed the model in simple clothing, something he may have seen older boys in their neighborhood wear. The machine was the "big brother" model with a personality it would develop as it spent time with its owner. She was not sure of the machines that had such great mastery of artificial intelligence but she did not want to discourage her son.

_Words_

They bonded instantly. If she didn't know any better, she would say that they were really blood related. Her neighbors agreed that this was the best choice for Max, "better than moping around all day reading books!" they scoffed. She did not tell them that he still read books, but he read them with Ash. She did not let them know that Max was preferred the indoors to the outdoors, and only now appreciated playing with other children because of Ash. No, it was better that they were left in the dark.

_Living Together_

She wasn't sure when 'the machine' became 'Ash', became, 'he', 'him', 'boy', 'big brother', 'son'. It was such an easy transition. He had such a bright smile, followed by an endearing voice. He listened, he rebelled, he played and got in trouble, he kept Max from being lonely and sometimes argued and fought with him. But they were brothers in the truest sense of the word. Sometimes she would forget that he was what he was. There were times when it was blaringly obvious. When they passed though security checkpoints to enter another part of town, Ash was always made to wear a tag on his shirt. He could not eat or drink, but he watched like a starved man at every meal until she made him leave the room. He had to go for updates every so often, he once caught a virus when Max decided to use his database for a project. He was family but appliances are just bits of metal put together to make something pretty.

_Ash_

She wasn't sure when 'big brother' became 'him', 'boy', 'that outdated model'. Max had grown up. He moved out, went to college, and had friends that did not have circuits inside of them or were programmed to love him. He did not want to bring Ash with him. "He's too old mom, you keep him." Max said to her as he packed his bags. He was taller than Ash now, older than Ash would ever be. "I don't need an outdated model where I'm going." She said nothing. It was his choice after all. The day Max left, Ash stood beside her as they waved goodbye. They did not leave until his car was a speck on the horizon. "I'm going to miss him." Ash said. He held on to her hand as they walked back to their home. She glanced at him and saw the same grief in his eyes that she witness all those years ago. She pulled him close to her bosom and held him tight. "But we still have each other." She gently placed a kiss upon his warm cheek and led him home.


End file.
